The Prankster
by MikeMuir0178
Summary: Buster asks for a greater challenge, so Bugs Bunny gives him a new villan to face off against. However, this villan may prove to much for Buster to handle. Can Buster figure out who the elusive Prankster is.


Author's note: The characters involved in this story are all products of Warner Brothers and have been used without consent. This story has been made just for fun. Also, some of you reading this might remember it from TTA fanfic. I am the same writer who did it but am considering writing another new story. I decided to post this to hear individual reviews and get some feedback. It will definitely help on my next story.

The Prankster

By Michael M.

The entire cast of Tiny Toons was debating over the plot for a future cartoon at Acme University. They all sat at a rectangular table looking over their scripts. Bugs sat at the head of the table to watch over the debate between the students. He had watched for hours as the students explained their ideas for changing the scripts. By the look of the group, Bugs concluded that a lot of the toons had problems with the script. All the young toons had their own ideas on how the script should be written. Bugs had to admit that the students had become more involved with their cartoons over the years.

When they first started Tiny Toons, the people at Warner Brothers studio had been the only ones who wrote the stories for the show. But Buster and Babs had inspired the rest of the characters to break away from listening to the studio writers. It was true that most of their fame came from chronicled events that actually happened in their lives, but some of the ten minute cartoons had been written by Warner Brothers. Bugs had finally managed to persuade Steven Spielberg to allow the kids to write their own adventures or at least change the scripts to their liking. If Steven had not, Bugs threatened to walk out of Warner Brothers. It was fortunate that Steven didn't call Bug's bluff about walking out.

After listening to the shouting of everyone in the room, Bug's believed it was time to create some order. He picked up a judge's mallet and hammered it on the table. "All right. Quiet on the set." Bugs said.

The room went quiet.

"All right kids, lets see what ya got to offer. Monti, I believe you're first." Bugs said.

Montana Max stood up from his chair. "I just want you to know that this is the worst script I have ever seen!" he said.

"Really? What's wrong with it, doc?" Bugs asked.

"For to long those rabbits have crushed, squashed, and blown me up in their cartoons! I want a chance to have the last laugh! Why must those rabbits always win?" Montana demanded.

"Face it Monti, we're the public's favorite." Buster said.

Montana jumped across the table to Buster's seat and grabbed Buster by the shirt. "Well maybe we should make a change?!" Montana said in Buster's face.

Babs, who sat to the right of Buster quickly did a spin change into a circus lion tamer. In one hand she held her chair and in the other she held a whip. "Back! Back Simba!" Babs shouted as she cracked the whip over Max's head.

Max screamed as he jumped away from Babs and landed back into his seat. Again the room broke into a series of vicious arguments between the toons.

"All right kids. Settle down." Bugs said as he hit the table with the judge's mallet again. He then turned to Max. "Listen doc. You are our best villain in this series, but Buster is right. People like the hero more than the villain." Bugs explained.

"So what's wrong with having a villain win? In the Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back movie, Darth Vader won against Luke Skywalker! So what's wrong with having me win against those two rabbits?!" Max demanded.

Babs did another one of her spin impression. "Montana Max! Join the dark side of the force!" she said while wearing Darth Vader's helmet.

Everyone laughed at the impression.

"Simmer down kids." Bugs said. He waited until the laughing stopped. "Okay doc. I understand your frustration. But think it over. Let's say Elmyra was our main villain in our story, and she managed to catch Buster and Babs and they could not escape."

"Ooh! Two cute little bunny wunnies for me to squeeze!" Elmyra said, eyeing both Buster and Babs.

"Bugs. Don't give her any ideas. It's bad enough we have to put up with her in school." Babs pleaded.

"Anyway, Monti, what would happen after that? We would loose our two main characters." Bugs explained.

"And make room for a real star! I like it!" Plucky shouted.

Shirley, who sat next to Plucky quickly made an anvil materialize over Plucky's head. The anvil dropped and crushed Plucky.

Fifi then raised her hand in the air.

"Yes Fifi?" Bugs said.

"When will us sidekicks get, 'ow vou say, ze chance to show our stuff? I'm not even in zis script, but I want to be in eet." Fifi said.

Bugs considered this for a moment. It was true that most stories approved by Warner Brothers concentrated on Buster and Babs, and the other characters had been spread out. Of course Fifi had moved up from the chaser of love, who starred in few roles, to a sidekick for Babs, which increased Fifi's popularity. Shirley had moved up as well. "To tell you the truth, kid, I don't know. Sorry, but two main characters is enough." Bugs said.

Fifi slumped down on the table.

"Cheer up Fifi. Being a sidekick isn't that bad." Hamton said.

Buster did a few quick glances at the script and noticed how the script used the same basic gags to fool Montana Max. Buster had to admit that Max always did fall for impressions he and Babs did. But, Buster wanted something different. It then occurred to him that maybe what was needed was a new villain. "Hey Bugs."

"Yeah doc?" Bugs said.

"I've been looking over the script and I think we need something new?" Buster began.

"What did you have in mind?" Bugs asked.

"Well, I believe that Max and I agree that this story of me going against Montana Max with Babs is slightly old now. Maybe we need a new villain for this role." Buster said.

"What!? That's my role!" Monti shouted.

"Not to insult you Monti, but you were one of the leftover villains we found when we started this series." Buster said.

"Leftover!? Why you-"

Bugs extended the mallet over Max's head and knocked Max out. "Calm down, doc." Bugs said to Max. He then turned to Buster. "Let's say your right, Buster. Who did you have in mind?" Bugs asked.

"What are my choices?" Buster asked.

Bugs turned and looked at the other characters to determine who could be a villain. "Well doc, there's Elmyra, Dizzy, Calamity, and maybe Furball." Bugs answered.

Furball stood up in shock and meowed questioningly at Bugs.

"Well, maybe not." Bugs said.

"Actually Bugs, I was thinking of someone fresh and more challenging. A new villain who can outwit us every once in a while, yet give us a good challenge in capturing him." Bugs said.

Bugs looked at Buster questioningly. "I don't know. A new villain maybe more than you can handle." Bugs said.

Montana felt totally opposed to the idea. His job was now at stake here. "I object. I'm supposed to be the main villain!" Max shouted.

"Come on Bugs. Give me a challenge." Buster pleaded.

Bugs sat in thought. Buster was sure asking for a lot of trouble.

"I think it would be a nice change." Babs said.

"Okay guys. Here's the deal. I'll find you a new villain who is more challenging for you. If you can prove he is not too much for you, we'll put him in the show as Monti's partner." Bugs said.

"No!" Max shouted. He felt his entire career slip away.

"Deal!" Buster said.

"Meeting adjourned!" Bugs said as he slammed down the judge's mallet.

Max walked out of the school with his jaw open in surprise. He could not believe that his entire career had been put on hold. If Bug's decided to keep this new villain, Max knew he would have to share his vast fortune with another person. Max's life crumbled before his very eyes.

"I can't let this happen!" Max shouted to himself.

Calamity walked up from behind Montana Max and held a sign up that said "What?"

"I can't be replaced by a new villain! It'll ruin my complexion!" Max shouted.

Calamity sat in thought. He then came up with a idea. "Why not just get rid of the new villain?" Calamity wrote down on one of his signs.

"You mean drive him out?" Max asked.

"Yes." said another sign Calamity held up.

"Yeah. Why not?" Max said to himself as a plan began to form in his head.

Bugs also felt down in the dirt at the moment. He was paging through thousands of pictures of future toons who would enter the school. Unfortunately, none of them bore the resemblance of a good villain, at least nothing that could deal with Buster and Babs. Most of their credentials explained that the new students wanted to be heroes or sidekicks.

Bugs knew how Max felt about being replaced. Although Bugs never really liked the kid, he still had to admit that Max did his job pretty good, considering he was, as Buster put it, a leftover Buster and Babs picked out. Max had made Yosemite Sam really proud, not an easy thing to do.

Bugs also wanted to teach Buster a good lesson. Bugs began to think that Buster was getting to cocky for his own good. Buster was over estimating his capabilities to handle villains. Bugs knew that he had to deflate Buster's ego just a little if Max was to be kept.

Suddenly, Yosemite Sam kicked the door open. "What's this I hear about you replacing my star student, rabbit?" Sam said as he pulled out his guns.

"Look doc. I'm busy right now. Come back later." Bugs said. Bugs then silently commented on how both Max and Sam had the same volatile temper.

"Oh no you're not!" Sam said as he knocked the papers out of Bug's hands. "You're going to fire that apprentice of yours and get Max back!" Sam argued.

"Actually, doc, I plan to do something that will help Monti." Bugs confessed.

Sam stood confused. He never expected Bugs to help Montana Max. "What do you have in mind?" Sam asked.

"Buster wanted a challenge, so I'm going to give him one. One he will never forget." Bugs explained.

Sam scratched his chin in thought. He then began to understand what Bugs was about to do. "Rabbit, I like your style. I never thought you would stab your own student in the back." Yosemite Sam laughed.

"Actually I'm just letting out a little hot air in him, doc." Bugs said. The idea then occurred to him on how to provide a challenge to Buster and Babs. In order for a villain to outsmart Buster and Babs, he had to find someone who could listen in on each of Buster's plans. He needed a back stabber.

Bugs threw down the papers about the new students and went to the drawer containing records for current students. "You just gave me an idea, doc. What we need is someone who can find out what Babs and Buster are planning." Bugs said. He then pulled out a photo book and fingered through it. "Yet it has to be someone they would never expect." Bugs added. He then stopped at a specific photo of one of the students. "This one will do!" Bugs shouted triumphantly.

Yosemite Sam peered at the photograph. His eyes widened in surprise. "You have got to be kidding." Sam said.

"So, what kind of villain do you think Bugs will get us?" Babs asked Buster as they walked down the stairs to the entrance of the school. Hampton and Fifi also accompanied them.

"I don't know. I hope its one who can trick us up once in a while. I mean, tricking Max is fun, but haven't you ever wanted someone who would not fall for our impressions all the time. Someone who could set a trap that would increase the thrill of the chase." Buster asked.

"It sounds like you are asking for it Buster." Babs warned her friend.

"I hope this villain is not too dangerous." Hampton said.

"Relax." Buster said.

Fifi could understand Hamton's concern and secretly hoped the same thing. "What makes ze villain ze villain? Fifi asked.

Buster stood and pondered this for a moment. "I guess it is someone who likes to make the hero look bad." Buster said.

"I don't think you need a villain for that." Babs said to Buster.

"Can it Babs. Anyway, a villain would be willing to seek something out for his own personal gain. Maybe its just to make fun of someone." Buster continued.

Fifi decided to accept Buster's answer. The description did fit to Max's actions.

"So are we still on tonight." Buster asked Babs.

"Just be there on time." Babs said.

"You two are going out? How romantic." Fifi said.

"It's just to the movies. What about you guys?" Babs said.

"No. I got to take care of some things at home. In fact, I better get going." Hamton said. He then ran off.

The others decided to follow Hamton's example and head home as well. Little did they know that a plan was already set into motion to give Buster a challenge.

That night, Bugs and Yosemite Sam waited in a dark room for their future villain. Sam was slightly uncomfortable with the choice Bugs had made, but could understand the reasons why Bugs chose this particular person. "I still think you should have chosen someone else." Sam grunted.

"Relax doc. Our friend was just itching for the job, or at least something like it." Bugs said.

Suddenly the door opened and a figure entered the room slowly.

"What's up doc?" Bugs said to the visitor.

The visitor was about to answer.

"Quiet doc. Remember, do not speak. The walls have ears you know." Bugs said.

The figure placed its hands on its mouth.

"Relax and sit down at the desk." Bugs said as he motioned to the desk in front of him.

The figure took a seat. On the desk were a couple pieces of paper and a pencil.

"If you want to say something, doc, just write it down on that paper." Bugs instructed.

Sam eyed the visitor. He could not believe he actually was going to aid this person in giving Buster a challenge. If anybody, it should be Montana Max who was supposed to be sitting here now.

"You know why your here, right?" Buster said.

The visitor nodded.

"The reason I chose you is because you seemed the perfect person to trick Buster and stop his growing ego. I know you have ways of anticipating Buster's moves, so he won't get you by surprise." Bugs explained.

Yosemite Sam stepped forward and placed a book on the desk. "This is a list of all the dirty tricks a villain needs to know. Use whatever you like, but don't you dare turn one of those tricks on us!" Sam ordered.

The figure shook its head "no" as fast as it could. It then picked up the book and paged through it.

"And above all else, don't let Buster know who you are." Sam ordered. He then placed a clothes bag in front of the figure. "Wear this to hide your appearance. You will be known as the Prankster when you wear these clothes." Sam explained.

The figure took the clothes out of the bag and held them up to its body. All the clothes were colored black. There were pockets all over the clothes, making it easy to hide stuff in.

"This will also help you, doc." Bugs said. He held out a small black box that had a strap around it. "This voice modulator will change the sound of your voice when it is on you. Allow me to demonstrate." Bugs said as he placed the small box over his lips and tied the straps together. "How does it look?" Bugs said, only now his voice sounded different. His voice had a higher tone, like a squeaky voice. Bugs then took off the device and handed it over to the figure.

The figure accepted the device and tried it on.

"Remember doc, this is only meant to hide the tone of your voice when you laugh. Try not to speak at all." Bugs continued

The figure nodded to show it understood.

"You can start your mission anytime you're ready. Make sure you humiliate that varmint!" Sam ordered.

The figure gave a final nod and ran off.

"You know a particular teacher is not going to like this at all." Sam said.

"I'll deal with him, doc." Bugs said, but Bugs knew he wouldn't enjoy it.

The next day began like any other day for Buster. As usual, he woke up late for school again. After doing a quick job of dressing, eating breakfast, and getting his books together, Buster ran off to school. On his way there, he met up with Babs.

"So, hot shot. Do you think Bugs has come up with any good villains for you?" Babs asked.

"Babs. It's too early. Creating a villain takes a lot of time. Take Max for example. It took him several semesters to learn the basics." Buster said calmly.

"Yeah, but Max didn't like to show up to most of his classes and got held back." Babs pointed out.

"Babs, we have beaten a number of villains. There's Max, Elmyra, Dizzy, Dr. Gene Splicer, and a whole bunch of other guys I can't even remember the names of." Buster explained.

"I don't know. You know how tricky Bugs can be. He may surprise you." Babs said.

"I can't believe you, Babs. I have taken lessons from Bugs since I first arrived. I am his apprentice. I'll be ready for his villain." Buster said.

The two continued their way to school. Surprisingly for them, they arrived ten minutes before classes started. The two rabbits headed to their lockers without incident. "You see Babs. No villain yet," Buster said. He then proceeded to unlock his locker.

"Maybe your right," Babs said.

Buster smiled and opened the locker door. The next second, a banana cream pie shot out from the locker and hit Buster directly in the face.

"Then again, maybe not," Babs laughed.

Buster began to scrape the pastry off his face. "Very funny," Buster said.

Plucky then came walking down the hall and saw Buster's appearance. "Hey Buster! What's with the light pastry?" Plucky asked as he strolled to his locker.

Buster frowned. "Someone's idea of a prank," Buster said.

"The old pie in the face routine. You'll never see me get hit by one of those." Plucky laughed as he opened his locker.

Suddenly, a time bomb, consisting of an old clock and some sticks of dynamite dropped out of Plucky's locker in front of Plucky. Plucky jumped into the air as his eyes popped out in surprise. The next moment, an explosion had engulfed Plucky. When the smoke cleared, a blackened duck stood before Buster and Babs.

"I guess your right, Plucky." Babs said.

"Okay! Who's the wise guy!" Plucky shouted.

A high pitched laugh echoed through the halls.

"What was that?" Babs asked as she clung to Buster.

Bugs came walking up to the group. "That was your new villain. By the look of it, he already issued his challenge." Bugs said and then laughed.

Babs turned to Buster. "And I thought you said you would be ready for a new villain." Babs said angrily towards Buster.

"Well -" Buster started, but found himself at a loss for words. He then turned to Bugs. "All right, who is this villain?" Buster asked.

"Can't say, doc. You can call him the Prankster. The idea is that he will be playing a series of pranks on you and your friends to discredit you. Your job will be to find out his true identity." Bugs explained.

"All of our friends?" Babs asked.

"That's right. Especially you Babs," Bugs said.

Babs turned to Buster and shot him an angry glance.

"So what does this Prankster look like?" Plucky asked.

"Well doc, he looks like that." Bugs said as he pointed to the opposite end of the hall.

All the toons looked down the hall to see a figure dressed in black clothing. He appeared to be in some form of ninja outfit. His head was completely covered by a mask. Behind him was a small black cape that flapped in the breeze. The figure stood in place and laughed menacingly.

"Just let me at him!" Plucky said angrily as he charged the figure.

"Plucky! Wait!" Buster called out.

But Plucky ignored him and continued to charge the Prankster, who just stood in place. "All right, Prankster! Time for pay back!" Plucky said as he stood in front of the figure.

"Happy Birthday!" the Prankster said, handing Plucky a wrapped gift. The Prankster then ran off.

"For me? You shouldn't have." Plucky said happily as he accepted the gift. He then unwrapped the gift and opened the box. The box exploded in Plucky's face the next moment. "I was right. He shouldn't have." Plucky moaned, his head blackened by the explosion.

"Uh-oh!" Babs said as she just realized something.

"What is it Babs?" Buster asked.

"If Bugs is right about the Prankster, he's going to go after Fifi and Shirley as well!" Babs explained.

"Maybe even Hamton!" Buster shouted, realizing the problem.

"You get Hamton! I'll get Shirley and Fifi!" Babs said.

The two rabbits then split up and rushed to their friends. Plucky stood in the hallway alone, grinding his teeth. "Wait till I get my hands on you!" Plucky growled angrily.

Babs ran through the hallway and went for Shirley first since her locker was the closest. As she rounded the corner, she saw Shirley beginning to open her locker. "No Shirley!" Babs shouted.

"Like, hi Babs!" Shirley said as she opened her locker.

Inside Shirley's locker was a giant speaker that had been turned up to its maximum volume output. Once Shirley had opened the door completely, the speaker came to life. The heavy metal music the speaker played sent Shirley flying across the hall and slamming into some lockers on the other side of the hall.

"Shirley!" Babs called out. She rushed over to her friend and peeled Shirley off the lockers.

"Like, what happened?" Shirley asked as she rubbed her head.

"Are you okay?" Babs asked.

"Like, I think so. That will wake up your senses. What's going on?" Shirley asked.

"I'll explain later. Come on. We got to help Fifi!" Babs said as she raced down the hall toward Fifi's locker.

Shirley didn't know what was going on, but decided to take Babs's word. After all, she was just a victim of a poor prank.

Babs continued to run down the hall. As she approached Fifi's locker, she saw the young skunk preparing to open her locker, just like she saw Shirley earlier. "No Fifi!" Babs shouted.

Fifi turned to her friends. "Bonjour Babs and Shirley." Fifi said as she began to open her locker door.

"Don't open -" Babs shouted.

Before she could finish, the trap had been sprung. A trap door in the ceiling opened. From the door poured gallons of green slime that completely covered Fifi from head to toe. Fifi's head popped out of the slime and groaned as she tried to climb out of the stuff.

"The door," Babs moaned. She and Shirley then raced over to Fifi and dug her out of the slime.

"Sacre Pew! I 'ave been slimed!" Fifi cried. Desperately, she tried to wipe the green slime off of her fur. Some students who had been in the hall started to laugh at her. As Fifi heard the kids laugh, tears ran down her cheeks. She had never felt so embarrassed in her life.

"It's okay Fifi." Babs said as she helped wipe the last of the slime off of her.

All three of them then heard the high pitched laugh of the Prankster.

"What eez going on!" Fifi asked.

"I'll let Buster explain since he's the cause of all this." Babs said angrily.

Meanwhile, Buster was running toward Hanton's locker. "Hamton!" Buster called as he ran through the halls. He rounded the corner to find Hamton sitting on the floor. The pig smiled happily as he ate a whole Banana Cream Pie. His locker door was completely open.

"Hamton! What are you doing?" Buster demanded. Originally he though Hamton would be on the floor, wearing a pie on his face or just surviving a explosion. But Hamton was unscathed and smiling happily.

"Hi Buster. Someone left this pie in my locker. It's Banana Cream, my favorite." Hamton said.

"Left it in your locker? Did you get hit by it?" Buster asked.

Hamton swallowed another slice. "Nope. It was just sitting in there. Some guy called the Prankster left it here." Hamton said.

"How do you know?" Buster asked. He found it hard to believe that the Prankster would spare Hamton. Hamton was usually the first person to be hit with a prank.

"He left his card." Hamton said, handing Buster a business card signed by the Prankster.

Buster took the card and peered at it closely. He could not identify the handwriting on the card.

"So what's going on?" Hamton asked.

"I'll explain during lunch." Buster said when he realized that class was about to start.

Although Shirley, Fifi, and Hamton had been one of the first to be hit by the Prankster's jokes, they had not been the last. Buster discovered that a number of other students had been hit by some form of prank set by the Prankster. Among them were Dizzy, Calamity, and Furball. Each had been hit by some form of trap when they opened their lockers.

But of all these students, Buster was hit the hardest. For once in his life, Buster felt the tables start to turn for his career. When rumor spread about how Buster had asked for a challenge from Bugs, causing the Prankster to emerge, students all over school started to blame Buster for all their misfortunes. Even during lunch break, Buster sat in the corner of the lunchroom with Babs, Hamton, Shirley, Plucky, and Fifi.

"I can not believe vou would do zis to us, Buster." Fifi said, expressing her anger to Buster.

"It's not really my fault." Buster said.

"But you did ask for a challenge at the meeting." Hamton said.

Buster slumped on the table, regretting what he said at the meeting. "Sorry what happened to all you guys." Buster sadly said.

Everyone looked at Buster but said nothing.

Fifi was the first to break the silence when she saw how Buster felt. She felt sorry for Buster as she looked into his sorry eyes. "Apology accepted." Fifi said as she placed a hand on Buster's shoulder.

Buster looked up to Fifi and smiled.

The others started to follow Fifi's lead and also apologized.

"Hey guys! Just because Buster asked for a challenge, doesn't mean we should just quit." Babs said. She then made a quick spin change into a general. "We may have lost the battle, but the war is far from over!" she said in a male tone. She then returned to her normal appearance.

Buster thought over what Babs had just said. He began to remember the number of times when he had felt down in the dirt. "You're right Babs." Buster said.

"Personally, I don't know what to think about the Prankster. Its true he did play some dirty pranks on you guys, but for some reason, he never did anything to trick me." Hamton explained.

"Maybe you are the Prankster!" Plucky shouted, pointing a accusing finger at Hamton.

"No! I'm not the Prankster!" Hamton pleaded as he shook in fright.

Fifi then jumped between Hamton and Plucky. "Hamton ees not ze Prankster!" Fifi shouted angrily to Plucky. She then curled herself around Hamton. "He ees to sweet and gentle." Fifi said. Hamton smiled in her arms and relaxed. He was glad that Fifi was his girl.

"Maybe it's you, then!" Plucky said, pointing a finger to Fifi.

"Moi?!" Fifi asked.

"Fifi was hit by one of the Prankster's tricks as well, Plucky!" Babs shouted to Plucky.

"She was?" Plucky asked, backing away from Fifi.

"I was slimmed." Fifi said sadly.

Plucky found himself short for words and looked at all of his friends, hoping to find support for his accusations. But none would help him.

"Like, it could be you Plucky." Shirley said.

"Me?! I got hit with a bomb!" Plucky shouted.

"Not to mention he was standing with us when we saw the Prankster." Babs added. Babs didn't want to defend Plucky, but knew for sure that Plucky was innocent this time.

Buster began to realize that the whole group was now falling apart. Plucky was only the first, but Buster knew that the rest of the group would start accusing each other unless the Prankster's identity could be found. "Listen guys. We can't start accusing anyone or we will never catch this Prankster. For all we know, it's someone from the Perfecto school." Buster explained.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So, like, what's the plan?" Shirley said.

"First. We must eliminate all the people who we know are not the Prankster." Buster said.

"That would be you, me, Bugs, and Plucky. We all saw the Prankster before school." Babs answered.

"Right. But Bugs is the one who assigned the Prankster to this job, so we can't talk to him. Instead, Plucky, Babs, and I will investigate. We'll eliminate suspects until we find someone who matches the Prankster." Buster said.

"Like, sounds good to me." Shirley said.

Everyone agreed as well.

"We start tonight, after school." Babs shouted encouragingly.

Little did they know was that the Prankster had listened in on the entire conversation. He knew now what to expect.

That night, Bugs met in the building with Yosemite Sam. Bugs had turned off the entire buildings power and made sure that no lights could shine into the building. Sam did a quick check of the halls to make sure no one was around. Both wanted to make sure that Buster wasn't spying on them. Once the building was secure, they both waited in the Principle's office.

The figure, known as the Prankster entered the building. The figure was still dressed in its costume to make sure no one realized his true identity.

"Not bad for a first day, doc," Bugs said.

"I don't think the kid did enough work." Sam said.

"Quiet doc. Our Prankster is only a beginner." Bugs said.

The Prankster then pulled out a notepad and began to scribble down words on the notepad. The notepad was then handed to Bugs to read.

"What's it say?" Sam asked.

"It seems Buster has started a investigation. He figured out Babs and Plucky are not our friend here." Bugs explained.

"He's narrowed down the field. That sneaky varmint!" Sam said.

"Don't worry, doc. I'm sure you'll figure out something to trick Buster. After all, you are the Prankster." Buster said.

The Prankster stood in thought. It then occurred to the Prankster that if he wanted to hide his identity, he had to shift the blame to someone else. Quickly he scribbled down the idea and gave it to Bugs.

Bugs looked over the plan. "All right, doc. Take your best shot at blaming someone else." Bugs said.

The Prankster then jotted down a list of supplies needed for the plan to work.

Bugs accepted the list and looked over it. "Crowbar; screwdriver; book on automobiles," Bugs read. But this was only part of the list. "This is going to take a little time, doc. I'll see what I can do."

The Prankster nodded and then ran off.

"You must be crazy to give the Prankster all of that, varmint." Sam said after looking at the list.

"Not really. I think I have an idea on what the kid is up to." Bugs said.

Buster, Plucky, and Babs gathered together to start their investigation. For the better part of the day, the three toons spent copying pictures of all the current students at the classroom. They then spent time trying to find villains who did not go to their school, such as Dr. Gene Splicer or members of Perfecto school. After all the photos had been collected, Buster led the group back to his place so that he could talk to his friends without being overheard.

"So why did you want all these pictures, Buster." Babs asked.

Buster went to one of the walls in his room and cleared off any pictures or posters on it. He then drew a large circle on the wall with a piece of chalk. "The only way we are going to find out the true identity of the Prankster is by eliminating suspects one by one." Buster began. He then started to put all the pictures of people who had been victims of the Prankster's jokes outside of the circle.

"So why the pictures?" Plucky repeated the question.

"These pictures are our suspects. We will put all primary suspects in this circle I've drawn, and put all others on the outside of it." Buster then slapped all the pictures on the wall. Only Montana Max, Calamity, Elmyra, Dizzy, the students of Perfecto, and all other villains encountered by Buster and his group had been placed in the circle. "Now who can we eliminate?" Buster asked.

"Us for one." Plucky said.

Buster reached up to the pictures on the wall and pulled down their pictures and ripped them apart. "Who else?" Buster asked as he studied the photographs.

Babs looked at the pictures. "Well, call it a hunch, but I don't think Calamity belongs up there. Neither does Furball for that matter." Babs said.

"Why do you say that?" Plucky asked.

"Have you ever heard Calamity or Furball speak. Remember, the Prankster said 'Happy Birthday' to Plucky when he gave Plucky that package." Babs explained.

Buster thought it over. To his knowledge, Furball had never spoken English, and Calamity never even made a sound. "Okay." Buster said as he tore down those pictures as well and shredded them.

"I think Hamton should be placed in the circle." Plucky said.

"Why?" Babs asked.

"He was never hit by a trap, and he was found eating one of those pies that hit Buster. I say he was probably consuming the evidence." Plucky explained.

"I hate to say this, but Plucky may be right." Buster sadly said. He then took the pig's picture and placed it inside the circle.

"I don't think I could ever believe that." Babs said. She had never seen Hamton do a single prank to his fellow students. It was hard to believe that Hamton was a prime suspect.

"Anymore?" Buster asked.

"None that I can see." Babs said.

Buster looked over the wall. "Well, five down, couple billion to go. Just keep a close eye out for people around the school when the Prankster shows up." Buster said.

The next day, school started up again, only this time the Prankster had come up with new tricks. As soon as Buster opened the door to the school, he was hit by dozens of pies. At his locker, Buster was blown up by a load of dynamite. Even his bag of lunch was taken, forcing Buster to eat the cafeteria food everyone dreaded.

Not only did Buster get hit, but almost the entire school, except for the teachers and Hamton. Students became the victims of whoopi cushions, banana peels on the floor, and booby trapped lockers. In response, the students began to blame Buster for their troubles.

At lunch, Buster met up with all of his friends, even Hamton who Buster considered a prime suspect.

"So how close are you to solving who the Prankster is?" Hamton asked.

"I can't say. We still got a lot of people who are suspects." Buster said.

"We have eliminated Furball and Calamity since they can't talk." Babs added in.

"Babs!" Buster shouted.

"Oops." Babs responded.

"So what now?" Fifi asked.

Max then came strolling over to the group. "Having trouble with the new villain, rabbit?" Max laughed.

Buster coldly stared at Max. "I'm probably closer to solving who it is then you are." Buster shouted back.

Max laughed out loud. "Yeah right! You're just a failure!" Max said out loud so the entire room could here.

The students around Buster, except for his friends, laughed as well. Some of them then started throwing food and napkins at Buster's general direction. Buster ducked underneath the table to dodge the incoming objects.

"All you guys! Stop!" Babs pleaded. She believed that Buster had been punished enough for one day. But she found no one was willing to stop.

"Zat does it!" Fifi said as a can of tomato juice, thrown from the back corner of the cafeteria, nearly hit her in the head. She immediately jumped on the table and held her tail with her hands. The next second, Fifi let out a gust of skunk spray in the back corner of the room. The students in the area ran out of the cafeteria as fast as they could.

The other students immediately stopped throwing items.

"Anyone want a piece of zis!" Fifi demanded.

Everyone shook their heads in unison.

Fifi then sat back down with her friends.

"Thanks Fifi." Buster said.

"That was great." Hamton said.

Fifi accepted their gratitude.

Buster then turned his attention to Furball and Calamity who ate their food one table over from his group. Buster decided to talk to them to see if they knew anything. "I hate to end the party, but I think Plucky, Babs, and I have to talk to Calamity and Furball." Buster said.

"We do?" Plucky asked. He had been interrupted from trying to make a move on Shirley.

"Like, go with them!" Shirley shouted at Plucky. She then picked Plucky up and threw him to the table Calamity and Furball sat at. Plucky landed at Calamity's feet, flat on his stomach.

Babs and Buster walked over to the table the coyote and unlucky cat sat at. "Hey Calamity. Furball." Buster called.

Furball meowed in response and Calamity held up a sign that said "Hello".

Plucky sat up and looked around. He then sat down with Buster and Babs. "We need to ask you some questions." Plucky said calmly. He then launched himself at Calamity and pointed an accusing finger at him. "Where were you on April 17, 1989?!" Plucky demanded.

Calamity pulled out a notepad and started to write frantically. When he was done, he handed Plucky the sheet of paper.

Plucky took the piece of paper and read it. "Oh. Okay." He said. He then pointed his finger at Calamity again. "What about December the twenty-fifth?!" Plucky demanded.

Again, Calamity started writing a note of his activities on that particular date.

"Cool it Plucky. Calamity is in the clear, and so is Furball." Buster said as he pulled his friend away from Calamity and forced the duck to sit down.

"Sorry about that." Babs said to Calamity.

Calamity accepted the apology from Babs.

"What we need is a clue as to who the Prankster is. As you know, he's ruining my reputation. I have to put him away." Buster explained.

Furball just gave a shrug, but Calamity, being a super genius at heart, sat in thought.

"Wait a minute!" Plucky shouted as he stood up.

"What is it now, Plucky?" Babs groaned.

Plucky took a position right next to Calamity. "Are we sure Calamity can't speak. Maybe he's hid it from us all this time. Let's find out!" Plucky said. Plucky then reached for a nearby mallet in the corner of the cafeteria and brought it down, hard, on Calamity's foot.

Calamity grabbed his foot and started jumping up and down on one foot. Despite the fact that his mouth appeared to be screaming, not a peep was heard from him. He only held a sign that said "OUCH!"

"I guess not." Plucky said.

Calamity recovered and looked toward Plucky angrily. His eyes burned red as his face appeared to be growling.

"It was just a test." Plucky said as he held up his hands in defense.

Calamity then pulled out a remote control from his backpack and pushed a single red button on it. A second later, an anvil dropped from the ceiling and crashed on top of Plucky. "So was this!" Calamity had put on one of his signs.

"Sorry about that. Everyone has been pointing fingers at everybody else, especially Plucky." Babs explained.

Calamity recovered from his anger and returned to his thinking. A light bulb appeared over his head when he finally got a idea. He picked up a piece of paper and began to scribble his solution on the paper. He then handed the paper to Buster.

"What does it say?" Babs asked.

"It says check the school records. Bugs might have the file on the computer." Buster said.

"Let's get to the library computer then." Babs shouted encouragingly.

Little did they know was that the Prankster had again overheard Buster's plan and was ready to prevent Buster from finding out his true identity.

Buster and Babs headed straight to the library. They found Bookworm waiting at the computer for anybody who needed to look up a reference.

"Bookworm. We need you to hack into the school's computer system to find the identity of this Prankster." Buster said to the worm.

Bookworm saluted and jumped onto the keyboard. He began to land on the individual keys and typed out the word "Prankster". A cycle of images flashed onto the screen. Finally, the computer stopped at the image of a character wearing some form of ninja clothing with a black cape.

"That's him!" Babs shouted.

"Can you find out who this is?" Buster asked.

Bookworm nodded and began to push a bunch of commands on the computer. The computer immediately began to cycle through the images of people who lived in Acme Acres.

"We got you now, Prankster!" Babs shouted victoriously.

Suddenly a bomb dropped from above and landed on the keyboard. All three toons had their eyes pop open in surprise just before the bomb exploded and enveloped all three of them. The smoke cleared revealing that all three tunes survived the explosion, but all the library computers had been completely destroyed. All computer information on the Prankster had been lost.

"What happened?" Babs asked as she recovered from the explosion.

"Look!" Buster said after doing a quick look around.

Standing at the entrance of the library was the Prankster, laughing. The figure then ran off into the halls where he disappeared.

"The Prankster!" Babs cried out.

Buster quickly pulled out a camera from his shirt pocket and began to photograph the entire room. "Nobody move!" he shouted as he took pictures of individual toons in the library.

"Buster. What are you doing?" Babs asked.

"Whoever is here is not the Prankster." Buster answered.

"Oh. Well let me help you." Babs said. She then borrowed the library's camera and photographed the room as well. They managed to photograph twelve people who had been present on the scene.

The Prankster ran through the hall and stopped at a corner intersection to catch his breath. He then looked down the hall to see if anyone was following him. When the Prankster saw no one was behind him, he sighed in relief.

"So you're the Prankster!" said a voice on the opposite end of the hall.

The Prankster turned around to see Montana Max heading in his direction.

"Its time too show you that I am the greatest villain in Acme Acres." Max said as he rolled up his sleeves.

The Prankster stared wide eyed at Max. The Prankster never knew he had to fight off the bully. He only thought he just had to play some sick pranks on Buster. This was against the agreement he had with Bugs.

Max stopped and stared the Prankster in the eyes. "Time to pay the piper," Max said as he pulled his arm back to punch the Prankster.

The prankster acted quickly in defense. He pulled out a suitcase from behind himself and showed it to Max.

"What's this?" Max asked as he took the suitcase. He opened it up to find thousands of dollars inside. "Money!" Max shouted happily. He then ran off, leaving the Prankster behind.

The Prankster laughed as Max ran off. He then pulled a remote control, similar to the one Calamity Coyote used. As soon as he pushed the button, the suitcase exploded, releasing tons of green paint.

"Augh!" Max shouted when he found himself covered in green paint. All the money in the suitcase had been an elaborately disguised paint bomb. "You're going to pay for this!" Max shouted angrily as he gave chase to the Prankster.

The Prankster ran as soon as he saw Max come after him. Max was only about a foot away from the Prankster as they raced through the halls. Max then took a chance and lunged himself at the Prankster. His hand caught hold of a strap that was around the Prankster's head. When Max yanked at the strap, it broke.

The Prankster continued to run until it realized its voice modulator was missing. He turned around to find that Max was holding the modulator in his hands. Rather than face Max, the Prankster continued to run away.

The day ended without any further incidents. Buster and Babs exited the school with high hopes. They had managed to eliminate twelve other students from their list of suspects. Unfortunately, none of the students in the room happened to be Shirley, Fifi, or even Hamton as they hoped.

"We may catch this Prankster after all." Buster said.

"We just got to make him show his face more often.

"Buster! Babs!" Plucky called out.

Buster and Babs turned around to see Plucky running down the school steps. His arms waved high in the air to catch their attention.

"What is it Plucky?" Buster asked.

"Did you hear? Montana Max faced the Prankster!" Plucky said.

"Who won?" Babs asked.

"The Prankster unfortunately, but rumor has it that Max may have something that belongs to the Prankster!" Plucky explained.

"That may be our clue to who the Prankster is. Let's get over to Monti's place!" Buster shouted happily.

Buster and Babs ran to Max's house as quickly as they could. Normally when they did, they would disguise themselves to hide their identity. But Buster decided that if anyone was going to find out the Prankster's identity, both he and Max would have to work together.

"What do you want?" Max shouted when he answered his door.

"Hi Monti. Listen, we need your assistance." Buster said.

Max looked at the two rabbits in surprise. He then broke out laughing. "Me? Help you? That's a laugh!" Max laughed.

Buster and Babs looked at each other for a second. "Listen Max. We both have a common enemy, the Prankster." Buster explained.

Max stopped laughing. "Yeah. So?" Max demanded.

"We heard you managed to steal something from the Prankster. With your clue and our deductive reasoning, we can find out who this Prankster is." Buster said.

Max looked at Buster and considered it for a moment. It was true that the Prankster was taking over his position. He also managed to find a device he could not identify. He decided to take a chance. "All right. Follow me." Max said.

Max led the way through his mansion. As Buster and Babs followed Max, they took the time to admire the grand halls of the mansion. Very few times had they entered the mansion, and normally they only saw a small portion of it from the entrance of the mansion.

Max led them to a small room full of toy boxes. He then pulled out the device he managed to take from the Prankster. "This is it. I pulled it off from the Prankster's head." Max said as he handed it to Buster.

Buster held the little box up by the straps. "What is it?" Buster asked.

"You tell me!" Max said angrily.

Buster handed the device to Babs. Babs eyed the device with curiosity. "Not very stylish, is it." Babs said.

"Did you see any fur, feathers, or scales?" Buster asked.

"No! He was completely covered! He tricked me and got away!" Max said angrily.

Babs fitted the device around her head to see if it fitted over anything. She didn't get a reaction until she placed it on her lips and spoke through it. "How do I look?" Babs asked, only then she almost sounded like the Prankster.

"That's it!" Buster said.

"What's it? She sounded like the Prankster to me!" Max said.

Buster took the device from Babs and looked at it closely. "You got the Prankster's voice modulator. This is how our friend can disguise his voice." Buster said.

"So?! What good is it?" Max demanded.

"Without this little box, the Prankster will have to use his real voice! All we got to do is make him speak!" Buster explained.

"And then we can identify him!" Babs joyfully said.

"That's right!" Buster replied.

Max took the device and then made a closer examination of it. "Only one problem." Max said.

"What?" Buster asked.

"There is some small writing on it that says that it was made by Wile E. Coyote. This Prankster may get another one." Max said.

The news shattered the hopes of Buster and Babs. "Did you have to ruin our hopes?" Buster groaned.

"Part of being a villain." Max laughed.

Babs took the voice Modulator from Max and then placed it on herself. "Well I think I have a plan that may work." Babs said in the Prankster's voice.

The next school day arrived. With the help of Max's financial aid, Buster and Babs managed buy all the equipment they needed for their first plan against the Prankster. Both of the rabbits had been surprised that Max gave them the money to buy the equipment they needed. But Max stated that if he ever wished to be the top villain in Acme Acres again, he would have to get rid of the Prankster first.

Buster waited outside the girl's locker room with Plucky.

"How long does it take for a girl to change?" Plucky asked Buster, for it seemed like hours since Babs had entered the locker room.

"Just let her put on her makeup." Buster said in a patient tone. But inside, Buster was as nervous as Plucky. He knew a lot of things could go wrong with the plan. "Are you sure that tape recorder of yours will work." Buster asked.

"Of course it will!" Plucky said.

Suddenly, the door opened to the girl's locker room.

"Here's Babs." Buster introduced.

Babs walked out the door, only now she was dressed as the Prankster. She walked out as if she was a super model. "In today's woman apparel, we have the custom made ninja outfit complete with cape. This outfit hides every feature of ones body. It is guaranteed not to pick up men." Babs said.

"Not bad. But you need to put on that voice modulator." Buster said.

Babs pulled the device out and placed it over her lips. "This thing is uncomfortable." Babs complained, now sounding like the Prankster to a small degree.

"Now remember, you have to make Bugs think you're the Prankster. With any luck, he'll say the Prankster's real name. We also need the school folder on the prankster." Buster explained.

"Good luck on that part." Plucky said.

"I know. Remember, I came up with the plan." Babs said.

Buster turned away from Babs. "I know. But a lot can go wrong." Buster said in a worried tone.

"Like what?" Babs laughed.

"Ze Prankster?! It can't be!" said a unmistakable voice.

"Uh-oh." Buster, Plucky, and Babs said together as they faced the source of the voice.

Standing in the hall was Fifi. She stood surprised as she saw what looked like Buster talking casually with the Prankster. Never did Fifi expect to see Buster doing such a thing with his new enemy. "What ees going on?! Why ees ze Prankster there?!" Fifi demanded loudly from Buster or Plucky.

"Wait Fifi! This isn't what you think it is!" Buster said.

Suddenly, a whole bunch of toons ran around the corner, wondering what the commotion was. They had heard Fifi's voice and rushed to see what it was she discovered. When they saw Buster with the false Prankster, they didn't know what to think at first. Then someone called out "traitor" within the crowd. Immediately, the crowd started shouting angrily.

"Well Babs! Here is one example of what can go wrong!" Buster shouted to his friend.

"Save your breath, Buster, and run!" Babs shouted angrily back.

The crowd still continued to roar in anger, but within the crowd, a few toons tried to stop the anger. These toons happened to be Shirley, Hamton, and Fifi. But despite the fact that all three friends tried to convince the crowd to let Buster explain, their voices had been drowned in the crowd's angry bellows. The next moment, Buster, Babs, and Plucky started running for their lives as a mad rush of toons came after them. They especially went after Babs since they believed she was the Prankster.

As Buster, Plucky, and Babs ran through the hall, they got separated. Each tried their own method of escape. Babs found that most of the crowd was after her. Though she wanted to take off her disguise and explain what the plan was supposed to be, revealing her true identity would end her reputation.

Babs eventually rounded a corner in the hall and hid herself in one the nearby classrooms. The crowd of angry toons ran past her position without seeing her. Babs sighed in gratitude, but she also worried about Buster and Plucky. It was clear to her that Buster and Plucky could never command the same respect they had before this event. It was most likely that Buster would be blamed for collaborating with the Prankster.

"There you are, you varmint!" Yosemite Sam said as he stepped towards Babs.

Babs froze in place and held her hands out defensively.

"I told you not to get into a situation like this! You're more trouble than your worth!" Sam said as he grabbed Babs by the hand and led her to the desk in the center of the room.

Babs was puzzled until she realized that she was still dressed as the Prankster. It then occurred to her that Sam was probably also involved with the Prankster. Sam was most likely the one who trained the Prankster.

Sam led Babs to the desk. On top of the desk was a small box. "This is your new voice modulator. Don't loose this one or I will hunt you down myself!" Sam shouted angrily.

Babs nodded her head. "At least it wasn't a total loss" Babs thought. Without this second voice modulator, the Prankster's voice could no longer be disguised. In fact, it might end the entire ordeal concerning the Prankster. All Babs had to do was pretend that she was the Prankster until Sam gave her the device.

Buster and Plucky ran together as they continued to try to escape the angry mob.

"This is not good!" Plucky shouted as he continued to run.

"Just keep running!" Buster shouted. But Buster could sense that the crowd was gaining on them. It was only a matter of time before the crowd would catch up with them.

"I can't go on any more, pal! I'm a goner!" Plucky said as he started to stumble.

"No Plucky!" Buster said.

Just as the two rounded the corner to another adjacent hallway, a ceiling panel opened up. From the ceiling, a fishing hook and line flew out. The hook caught on Buster's shirt. As soon as it did, Buster felt himself being yanked backwards toward the ceiling. Instinctively, Buster grabbed Plucky and both had been carried up into the ceiling.

The crowd ran past the spot Buster and Plucky had disappeared. Before they knew it, they all stumbled into another one of the Prankster's traps, a puddle of glue on the floor. All the toons that had chased Buster and Plucky got caught in the large puddle and found themselves immobilized for the moment.

Buster and Plucky fell from the ceiling and watched in surprise as the angry toons got caught by the puddle of glue. They then saw the real Prankster jump down from the ceiling, landing next to Plucky. He carried a fishing rod which he quickly placed back into his backpack that was hidden under his cape.

"That was a close one." Plucky commented. He then turned to the Prankster. "Thanks a lot, Babs." Plucky said.

"Plucky. That's the real Prankster." Buster said.

"What?" Plucky shouted as he turned to his friend.

"The real Prankster saved our hides." Buster repeated.

"Well in that case, I ought to – what?" Plucky had turned back to the real Prankster only to find that the Prankster had disappeared. Buster and Plucky stood confused and looked around the area, but did not see the Prankster.

"I wonder why he helped us?" Buster asked himself.

Babs could not believe her eyes. Sam was actually thinking she was the real Prankster and was about to give her the second voice modulator that the Prankster needed. For Babs, it felt too easy.

"Now remember, don't lose this one!" Sam ordered.

Babs reached for it slowly. But before she could grab it, the Prankster slammed open the door.

"Uh-oh!" Babs mumbled to her self.

"Two Pranksters?!" Sam said surprised.

The real Prankster strolled over to Babs and immediately ripped off the mask.

Sam jumped in surprise. "Great horny toads!" Sam cursed, realizing his mistake. He also knew the kind of damage that would have happened if Babs had taken the voice modulator. Another 3,000 would be lost.

Babs thought fast as she saw Sam advance on her. "Wow! Look at the time!" Babs said as she gave a quick glance on her watch and then bolted straight out of the room. Sam would have given chase to Babs, but the Prankster held him back.

Buster was happy when school had ended. What started out as a normal day had ended in disaster. It was clear that until the whole truth behind the Prankster had been solved, his entire reputation would be ruined, as well as Plucky's. It was a nightmare come true for Buster. He had never thought one of his plans could backfire so easily. Plucky and Babs accompanied him back to his den where they collapsed.

"I should never have cooperated with you guys!" Plucky shouted angrily.

"Put a sock in it, Plucky!" Babs shouted back.

"Hey! You're not the one who just got chased out of school by your own classmates. The students think that Buster and I are the cause of the Prankster's jokes now." Plucky said.

"My plan would have worked." Babs said.

"Yeah, only that stink bomb of a friend of yours had to come and ruin it!" Plucky shouted.

"Fifi didn't ruin anything. She just didn't know what was going. Have you forgotten that she, as well as Shirley and Hamton, tried to calm down the mob, waiting for our explanation!" Babs shouted.

"For all we know, all three could be the Prankster!" Plucky shouted.

Buster felt like he had heard enough. "Quiet you two!" Buster shouted.

Plucky and Babs went silent and stared at Buster.

"We can't fight among our selves. If we do, the Prankster wins." Buster said. Buster then collapsed onto his bed.

Both Babs and Plucky frowned as they saw Buster collapse on the bed in frustration. They then turned to each other and paused to look each other in the face.

"Sorry about what I said, Babs." Plucky said.

"Like wise." Babs answered. Babs then walked over to Buster. "So what can we do now?" Babs asked Buster.

"I don't know." Buster said. For once, Buster wished to have the same old stories of going against Montana Max. At least he knew everything he needed to know about handling Max. But this Prankster seemed to know everything that would happen. It was like the Prankster could read Buster's mind.

"You know what I want to know? I want to know why that Prankster rescued us from that mob. I may not be a villain, but I would think that a villain would let the hero get trashed in that situation." Plucky said.

Buster also had the same question on his mind. Buster then looked to all the people who he considered suspects. He mostly looked at all the villains on the wall. As he did, he realized that Plucky brought up an interesting point. No villain would rescue the hero. "You're right Plucky." Buster said.

"Huh?" Plucky said surprised.

Buster walked over to the wall and immediately stripped down every villain on the wall. "If one of these villains had been the Prankster, they would not have rescued us from the mob at school. Therefore, our Prankster is someone else. Someone who doesn't want to see us get hurt that much." Buster explained.

"But that leaves –" Babs began.

"Our friends?" Plucky said in surprise.

Buster shrugged. "Maybe? Someone within our group or one of the students following in our footsteps," Buster said.

Suddenly the telephone in Buster's room rang. Buster went over and picked up the phone. "Hello." Buster said.

"Buster. It ees moi, Fifi." said a distressed Fifi on the line.

"What is it?" Buster asked.

"I saw the Prankster not to long ago. He was trying to break into moi home. I need help." Fifi cried.

"We'll be there shortly." Buster said and then hung up the phone. He then turned to the others and explained what Fifi told him on the line.

"Why would the Prankster be interested in Fifi?" Babs asked.

"Maybe he needs a stink bomb." Plucky replied.

"I think it's much more. Come on Babs. Plucky, you stay here." Buster said. He and Babs then rushed out of the house.

Buster and Babs arrived at the junkyard a half hour later. When they first entered, they saw nothing out of the ordinary. Buster and Babs entered the dump cautiously. They found Fifi's home in the center. All the lights had been turned off inside the car that was Fifi's home.

Babs strolled up to the door and knocked on it. "Fifi. It's Babs." Babs whispered.

The door to the car opened a crack and Fifi peered outside. "Babs! Buster!" Fifi cried. She then completely opened the door to let the two into her home.

"So what's going on?" Babs asked.

"I do not know. Ze Prankster came here and tried to open ze trunk to moi house." Fifi explained.

"Did he get it open?" Buster asked.

"No. Ze lock ees, 'ow vou say, jammed." Fifi said.

Buster looked around the house. It was his first time to actually be in it. As far as he could tell, Fifi had no real valuables. Only a few silk drapes to match with the interior's color, a couple of shelves, and some clothing. "I'm going to take a look outside." Buster said.

Buster walked out the car and headed to the back of the car to look at the trunk. He found that someone did try to pry the trunk open with some sort of tool, a crowbar most likely. Buster then looked down to see a book that showed the designs for a cadallac.

Babs and Fifi then walked up to Buster. "Well?" Babs asked.

"Someone tried to break in." Buster said.

"Oui. He was carrying a lot of boxes with 'im as well."

"Sounds to me like he was planting evidence on Fifi." Babs said.

"Yeah." Buster agreed. He then turned to Fifi. "Did you see where he went after he left.

"Oui. He went to ze old shack at ze other end of ze dump." Fifi explained.

Buster looked in the general direction of the shack. "Okay. Babs and I will check it out. You stay here, Fifi." Buster said.

"I don't want to be alone!" Fifi cried.

"All right. Babs, you stay with Fifi." Buster ordered.

"No way, Buster. Your going to need all the help you can get. We all go in or no one goes. That is your choice." Babs said.

Buster sighed in frustration. "Okay. Follow me." Buster said. He then led the way toward the shack. The three toons stuck close together. Fifi shook in fright as they approached the shack. She held on tightly to Babs's arm. Babs tried to pry the skunk off her arm, but could not. Fifi always did have a strong grip for hanging onto her love interests.

"Fifi. Get off." Babs said as she pried Fifi's hands off of hers.

"I'm scared." Fifi whined as she continued to hold on. Eventually Babs managed to pull her hand out of Fifi's grasp. Babs also began to understand how hard it was for men to escape Fifi's grip as well.

Buster walked up to the shack and knocked on the door. When Buster felt sure the place seemed abandoned, he opened the door and looked inside. "Wow! Jackpot!" Buster said happily.

Babs and Fifi looked inside as well. "I'd say we found the Prankster's store room." Babs said.

"Oui" Fifi answered.

The inside of the shack was full of equipment the Prankster needed to carry his sick jokes. In one corner were a couple dozen pies sitting on a kitchen set. In another corner was thousands of boxes marked "TNT". There was even a cauldron that was used to mix slime in.

The three toons entered the room and began to look around. They all had become curious to their new find. While Buster checked out the boxes marked "TNT", Babs looked over the kitchen set with the dozen of pies on it. Fifi went to the cauldron with the slime in it and shivered as she remembered being dumped in it.

"I'd say he was preparing to play another prank on the students at the school." Buster said.

"It sure looks like it." Babs said as she turned to examine a speaker that lay behind some of the pies.

"Oui." Fifi said. Fifi then strolled to a corner of the room that had empty boxes covered in cobwebs. She looked for any clues as to what used to be in the boxes. She then spotted a clean folder on one of the old boxes. Instinctively she reached for it and looked at the tab on it. "Ze Prankster file?" Fifi read. She then turned toward Buster and ran towards him. "Look what I found! Ze file for ze Prankster!" she shouted happily.

Both Babs and Buster looked up from their investigation and saw Fifi running toward them. Babs then spotted a thin trip line on the floor. "Fifi! Look out!" Babs shouted.

But Fifi was too excited and ran over the trip line without seeing it. The next second, she fell down a trap door that was over the trip line. She screamed as she fell down the hole.

"Fifi!" Buster shouted as he and Babs approached the hole. The trap door remained open, but all Buster or Babs could see inside it was blackness. Fifi's scream had now stopped.

"Fifi?" Babs moaned when she realized her friend had disappeared.

"Don't worry Babs. She is in there, somewhere." Buster said.

Suddenly, Buster and Babs heard the groaning of machinery coming from the hole. They then saw a cannon, pointed vertically, slowly being raised through the trap door by an elevator that was underneath the floor. They stepped back from the hole to watch the cannon rise to the surface.

The cannon was about twice the height of Babs or Buster and was wide enough to slide either one of them inside. The elevator stopped once the cannon had completely cleared the trap door. The cannon then lowered to an angle and pointed itself toward the horizon of Acme Acres.

Both Buster and Babs stood in total surprise. It took them a second for them to realize that Fifi was probably inside the cannon.

"As Fifi would put it, fire in ze hole!" laughed a high pitched voice.

Buster and Babs turned to see the Prankster directly behind them. In his hand he held the remote control for the canon. His finger was just inches away from pushing the switch.

"Say bye!" the Prankster laughed as his finger began to push the button.

"Hold it!" Buster called, hoping to buy some time.

The Prankster stopped and stared at Buster.

"Fifi has nothing to do with you. You want me." Buster said angrily as he pointed to himself.

"She knows too much!" the Prankster said. He then pushed the button on the control panel.

The canon fired immediately. Out of its muzzle, a lavender skunk, with its tail set on fire, was sent through the sky. Buster and Babs could only watch as Fifi was shot out into the distance. The folder she held was also on fire. Fifi disappeared into the distance without a trace.

"She'll feel that in the mourning." Babs commented as she watched her friend disappear.

Buster then turned back to the Prankster.

The Prankster was getting into a go-cart that was hidden in the corner of the shack. With a final cheer of victory, the Prankster started the go-cart and drove it through a side wall. He laughed like an insane maniac as he disappeared into the night.

"We'll never catch him now." Babs said.

"We will. He limited the playing field. We now know Fifi is not the Prankster." Buster said. Buster knew he was getting closer to the Prankster's true identity. If only Fifi had managed to give him that folder, the mystery would finally be over. But now the secrets in the folder had disappeared as well. Deep inside, Buster wondered if he had asked for to much when he asked for a new villain.

The next day came, and the Prankster continued its jokes on the students at Acme Looniversity. Despite this, Buster began to narrow down his field of choices. Buster had eliminated the small characters like Bookworm, Sneezer, and Sweetie Pie since they were too short to play the role of the Prankster. Fifi was also eliminated from the list since Buster and Babs saw her get shot out of the cannon by the Prankster. Buster met with Babs, Plucky, and Fifi to discuss future plans in the cafeteria.

"So the Prankster isn't Fifi." Plucky said after Babs and Buster explained what happened last night.

"What about the folder you found, Fifi?" Babs asked.

Fifi looked sadly at her friends. She then dumped a paper bag full of ashes on the table. "Zis ees all zat's left." Fifi said.

Buster snapped his fingers in frustration. "So close." Buster said.

"But not close enough." Babs said as she sifted through the ashes with her finger.

"So who's left?" Plucky asked.

"Well, there's Shirley and Hamton. They are the closest suspects we have concerning close friends." Buster said.

Babs sat in her glum mood. The Prankster was still winning the battle in the long run. The suspect list was still pretty large. They only had taken down a few pictures so far. At least Fifi had been eliminated from the list, giving Babs at least one friend to trust in. Shirley on the other hand was still a possible subject. Her powers could easily have read Buster's mind.

"Hi guys." Hamton said as he approached his friends.

"Private meeting, Hamton." Buster said to Hamton in a glum tone.

Hamton looked curiously at Buster. "I just wondered how you guys are doing." Hamton said.

"We've had better days." Babs said.

"Yeah. Even Fifi has had better evenings." Plucky laughed.

Hamton starred at Plucky. He then turned to Fifi. "What's he talking about, Fifi?" Hamton asked.

"She got shot out of a cannon last night." Buster explained.

"Oui," Fifi said in a low tone as she laid her head on the table.

"How cruel! How can anybody hurt you?" Hamton asked. He placed his hand on Fifi's hand and cradled it. Fifi smiled to her friend in response.

Babs eyed the two and asked the same question in her head. Hamton was so far the top suspect since none of the Prankster's pranks had hit him. Yet, the Prankster was definitely someone who didn't like Fifi since he resorted to shooting Fifi out of a cannon. As she watched Hamton hold Fifi's hand, she wondered how Hamton could in fact hurt Fifi. "Hamton. Why don't you take Fifi for a short walk. I'll call you guys back later." Babs said.

Hamton looked to Babs and then to the rest of the group. Everyone shook their head at him to take Fifi for a walk. Even Fifi got up and waited for him to lead the way. Everyone watched Hamton until both he and Fifi disappeared out the door.

"Listen guys. I don't think its Hamton." Babs said to Buster and Plucky.

"What do you mean? He's the only one who has not fallen victim to the Prankster's jokes." Plucky said angrily.

"True, but did you see how Hamton acted just now." Babs asked.

"Yeah. What about it?" Buster shrugged.

"Does he look like the kind of guy who would shoot Fifi out of a cannon?" Babs asked.

Buster and Plucky looked toward each other.

"Would Hamton shoot his own girlfriend?" Babs demanded when she saw that neither of them understood what she was getting at.

"Maybe?" Plucky said.

Babs slammed her face on the table in frustration.

But Buster sat in thought. "Now that you mention it, Hamton would never do that. He and Fifi have become close. I doubt he would jeopardize his relationship with her." Buster said.

"Finally!" Babs said in relief when Buster understood her logic.

"Well, that's one less suspect." Buster said. He then pulled out a notebook from his backpack. It held all the names of people who had been considered suspects for the Prankster. In the notebook, he scratched out Hamton's name. "One more down, but a couple hundred to go." Buster said.

Unfortunately, as the days went by, the students became more restless from waiting for Buster to solve the mystery of who the Prankster was. It had been three days since Hamton was no longer considered a suspect, and the Prankster still continued his reign of pranks. Students became the victim of booby trapped lockers, banana peels on the floor, and pies in the face. Only one comfort came from this Prankster.

Despite that most of the students in the school had been hit by the Prankster, most of the pranks had been played on Montana Max. Max could never dodge a trap set by the Prankster. Every class period, he got hit with another prank, making him the laughing stock of the entire school. For the students, the Prankster represented a person willing to stand up to Max in this case. But overall, the students, especially Montana Max, wanted to catch and get rid of the Prankster for good.

At the cafeteria, Buster, Plucky, and Babs met to discuss future ideas on how to catch the Prankster. Unfortunately, none of them had any plans.

"So many hits, and not one clue as to who the Prankster is." Plucky said.

"Yeah. We haven't found anyone else to strike off that list since Hamton." Babs said.

"We just have to wait for our chance." Buster said, hoping to get his team's spirits up. Little did they know was that their big chance was coming up.

Montana Max stood at the cafeteria counter to pick up his serving of mystery meat. He growled under his breath in frustration, for the Prankster had stolen Montana's third lunch box and gotten away. All Montana could do was eat the cafeteria food, which most toons believed wasn't edible.

"Hey! Give me some service, here!" Max shouted over the cafeteria counter.

A gloved hand handed Max a tray full of mystery meat.

Max snatched the tray away from the hands and looked at his lunch. "Hey! There's a bomb in my meat!" Max said angrily at first. His eyes then popped wide open as he realized what he just said. "A bomb!" Max shouted as he jumped in surprise. The bomb exploded the next second. Max was left charred, holding a broken tray. Some of the mystery meat was now on him. "All right! Who's the wise guy!" Max demanded.

Over the counter, the Prankster, having a chef's apron and hat over his own clothes, waved at Max.

"You!" Max shouted. He then lunged at the Prankster. But the Prankster dodged Max's attempts and vanished out the cafeteria at blinding speeds.

Everyone saw what just happened and laughed at Max's misfortune. Max got himself a new tray of mystery meat and walked off growling.

"The Prankster struck again." Babs said.

Buster pulled out his camera, and quickly ran around the room, taking pictures of students who had been present during the event. To Buster's wonderful surprise, he found that most of the students that attended the Looniversity were present in the cafeteria. "Finally, I can narrow down the list." Buster happily said as he took the last shot.

"Yeah. But who does that leave?" Babs asked.

"After I get these pictures developed, we will know who are friend is." Buster said.

Plucky laughed to himself. "At last, pay back time." he said.

That night, Buster, Plucky, and Babs got the shots developed and began taking off several pictures off the wall of suspects. They tore the pictures up and threw them in the trash can. But once they had finished, they were not pleased with the results.

"Only five students left." Buster said as he looked at the pictures on the wall.

"And one of those is Shirley." Babs said sadly.

"But it can't be. She was hit by the Prankster to." Plucky said.

"She was hit by one of his traps. The Prankster never showed his face when Shirley was around." Buster corrected.

"What about the other four?" Babs asked.

Buster looked at each of the other students. The only one that had the slightest look of guilt was a raccoon. "Well, I don't know any of these guys personally." Buster said.

"I say we check them out." Plucky said.

"Right. Babs, since you and Shirley are close, you go over to her house and talk to her. Plucky and I will talk to these other four kids.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is all wrong?" Babs asked. For some reason, it seemed too easy.

Shirley sat in the center of her house and focused her thoughts on the spiritual plane. She was surrounded by hundreds of candles that provided the light in the dark room. Next to her, she had some incense burning. Slowly, she proceeded to probe through Acme Acres to watch the various activities of people.

Suddenly, a knock was heard on her door.

Shirley lost her concentration and awoke from her trance. When she did, all the candles blew out, and the lights in her house came back on. "Like, who can that be?" Shirley asked. She then floated over to the front door to open it. "Oh. Like, hi Babs." Shirley said when she saw her friend outside.

"Hi Shirley." Babs said in a sad tone.

"Like, you look all stressed out. What's wrong? Do you want to come in?" Shirley asked.

"I better not." Babs said.

Shirley was surprised by how Babs was acting. Normally, Babs was excited when she came over. Shirley could feel a lot of negative vibes coming from Babs. "Like, what's wrong?" Shirley asked.

"Did you hear about the Prankster in the cafeteria?" Babs began.

"Like, yeah. What about it?" Shirley said.

"Well, Buster took a lot of pictures of who was present at the event since the Prankster couldn't be in the same place at the same time. We managed to knock out a lot of suspects." Babs said.

"That's great. Like, now you know who the Prankster is." Shirley said.

"Well, no. We have five suspects." Babs said.

"So?" Shirley asked.

Babs did not know how to explain to one of her best friends that she was now a suspect to the Prankster's identity. She just hoped that Buster and Plucky had better luck than she was.

"Come on, Babs." Shirley said.

"Well, you are one of them." Babs said slowly.

Shirley's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Me?!" she said.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I need to know where you were when Max got blown up." Babs said in her most calm voice.

"Like, I was focusing my mind in the school courtyard." Shirley said.

"Were you alone?" Babs asked.

Shirley began to understand where Babs was heading. Deep inside, she felt insulted by her best friend. "Like, I'm not the Prankster. I would never do things like that!" Shirley said angrily to Babs.

"Shirley. I'm just trying to find the truth. We haven't convicted anyone yet." Babs explained.

"Sounds to me, like, you have!" Shirley said.

"Come on, Shirley." Babs pleaded.

"Like, Goodbye!" Shirley said as she slammed the door closed.

Babs looked at the door and wondered where she had gone wrong. It occurred to her that ever since they had asked for a new villain, everything went wrong. Friends had accused other friends as a result. Babs desperately wondered where it would end. She then headed back to Buster's home with her head hung low.

Babs arrived at Buster's home just after Buster and Plucky had returned. Both of them had a look of sorrow on their faces. "Please tell me you found out who the Prankster is." Babs demanded.

Both Buster and Plucky looked at each other. "We saw those four students, but none of them are the Prankster. They had been studying comedy stunts with Foghorn and Elmer Fudd. Both teachers confirm they had been there." Buster said.

"Maybe the teachers are working with the Prankster." Babs suggested.

"I doubt it. Foghorn talks too much and would probably give away the Prankster's identity." Buster said.

"And Elmer is not exactly bright enough to help the Prankster." Plucky said.

"Right. It seems that only Sam is the one behind the Prankster's tricks." Babs admitted. She then looked to the ground in disappointment. The group went silent for a few minutes.

"So what do we do now?" Plucky asked.

"Shirley is now our only suspect. I guess we have to go get her." Buster said sadly.

Plucky jumped to his feet. "Wait a minute! We can't take Shirley in!" Plucky shouted.

Buster turned to Babs for support. Babs only looked back at him with sorrow. "We have no choice." Buster said. Even Buster wanted to deny the facts, but found no way of supporting his ideas. The students at the Looniversity demanded that he get rid of the Prankster, and he had to do just that.

"No! I won't let you!" Plucky shouted.

"Babs. You know we have to see if she is responsible." Buster said.

Babs gave a reluctant nod of her head. She knew that it was possible that Bugs had hired Shirley and asked for her to play the part. But Babs did not like the idea.

"We'll see about that!" Plucky said. He pulled out a mallet he had hidden behind his back and slammed it down on Buster's head, flattening Buster like a pancake. He then raced out of buster's house and ran straight toward Shirley's house.

"What are we going to do now?" Babs asked.

Buster popped back into his normal shape. "I don't know." Buster admitted.

Shirley was full of mixed emotions. She was angry at the fact that her friend had accused her of being the Prankster and was sad that she had lost the trust of Babs and her other friends. The truth was she never even knew who the Prankster was. But she could not doubt that Buster and Babs had tried to narrow down the field. So how did she become one of the last suspects?

Shirley then heard a knock on the door. She went over to the door, expecting Buster behind the door pointing an accusing finger at her. As soon as she opened the door, Plucky raced in and slammed the door closed.

"Like Plucky. What are you doing here?" Shirley asked.

Plucky tried to catch his breath from running. "You got to get out of here! They think you're the Prankster! You're not, right?" Plucky asked.

"Like, as if." Shirley said as she crossed her arms.

"I knew it! Listen, Buster and Babs are coming over soon! I got to get you out of here!" Plucky said.

Shirley was almost willing to go with him. She then realized that if she did, she would look guilty. Her best chance of proving her innocence was to stand her ground. "Sorry, Plucky. Like, I'm staying here." Shirley said.

"Are you a loon?" Plucky shouted

"Yes I am." Shirley said defiantly, crossing her arms and turning her head away from Plucky.

"What I mean is, are you crazy?!" Plucky demanded.

"I will prove my innocence." Shirley said, still holding her stance.

"You leave me no choice!" Plucky said. The next second, Plucky jumped Shirley and began to stuff Shirley inside a wooden crate. Shirley was taken by surprise and never had a chance to defend herself. Once Plucky was done, he placed the crate on his back and ran out of the house.

"Let me out of here, Plucky!" Shirley shouted within the crate.

Plucky ignored her and continued to run through Acme Acres. A lightning bolt then emerged from the crate and shocked Plucky. Plucky jumped from the jolt, but continued to run with the crate. Several more bolts emerged and shocked Plucky. But Plucky was too stubborn to give in. He could not let his girl get accused.

The next day at school, neither Plucky nor Shirley ever showed up. Buster and Babs did search the school for clues on their location, but no one knew where they were.

"Buster, this is all wrong! Maybe we messed up!" Babs said.

"How? We limited the photos to just Shirley. I don't like this either to tell the truth." Buster said.

Montana Max then walked up to Buster and Babs. "You two rabbits found out who the Prankster is? Everyone wants to hear a answer." Max said.

Buster and Babs looked toward each other.

"Well?" Max demanded

"We still have a few suspects." Buster said after a long pause.

"You rabbits are useless!" Max said. He then walked off.

Babs turned to Buster. "Why didn't you tell him the truth?" Babs asked.

Buster looked to the ground. "Cause I can't accuse my friends. I guess my only choice is to capture the Prankster." Buster said.

"Good luck on that part." Babs said. She then hugged Buster, "Thanks for believing Shirley."

Calamity Coyote walked down the hall with his nose in a book about Quantum Physics. It was one of his favorite pass times, when he wasn't chasing Little Beeper. Hopefully, he would be able to construct a device that could catch Little Beeper. But for the moment, everything he tried, failed.

As Calamity walked by the janitor's closet, the door opened and Calamity was pulled inside. Calamity found himself face to face with Max the next second. Max held him by the back of the neck.

"Now listen here, coyote! You and I are going to find out who this Prankster is, tonight!" Max said.

Calamity gulped and pointed a questioningly finger at himself.

"Yes! You!" Max said.

Calamity quickly scribbled some words on a notepad he had. He handed the letter to Max. Max read the letter and threw it away. "Would you rather have to deal with me?" Max demanded. He held his other hand back, ready to slug Calamity.

Calamity gulped and quickly scribbled another note and handed it to Max. Max read it and smiled happily. "Good! Now here's what we are going to do!" Max said.

That night, Bugs met with Sam and the Prankster in the gym of the Looniversity. The lights had been completely turned off so no one could spy inside. The meeting was an emergency meeting called by Sam. Sam had just learned how Buster had photographed most of the school to limit his choices in identifying the Prankster.

"If Buster keeps this up, he'll know who the Prankster is." Sam began.

"Relax, doc. Buster doesn't know who are friend is. Personally, I think he stumbled somewhere and got the wrong idea." Bugs said.

"And what do you have to say about this?! You limited Buster's choices down to almost zero by doing that stunt in the cafeteria!" Sam demanded to the Prankster.

The Prankster looked at Sam and shrugged. He then began to write some words on a sheet of paper. He handed the note to Bugs to read.

Bugs read over the paper and looked surprised.

"What does it say?" Sam demanded.

"The Prankster wants to quit." Bugs said.

Sam turned to the Prankster. "What?! You can't quit! Not until we teach that varmint a lesson!" Sam shouted in the Prankster's face, frightening the Prankster.

Tears began to swell up in the Prankster's eyes. The Prankster then scribbled another message and handed it to Bugs.

"It says that Buster may have learned his lesson already." Bugs said.

Sam snorted in disagreement.

Bugs turned to Sam. "Listen doc. The Prankster is not even a real villain. Remember, the tricks used are found in that book you gave to the Prankster." Bugs said.

"No good varmint!" Sam growled as he walked away.

Bugs then turned to the Prankster. "Listen kid. Just play the role a little bit longer. I know it's hard, but we have to see this through." Bugs said.

The Prankster gave a small nod. But the Prankster wanted this to end. The job may have seemed okay in the beginning, but now the whole idea was tearing friends apart. Something the Prankster never wanted or really expected. The Prankster then wrote down another note and gave it to Bugs.

Bugs read over the note. He found it was a single request the Prankster wanted if he was to continue his services to Bugs. "You really want to do this?" Bugs asked.

The Prankster nodded slowly.

"It's your skin, doc." Bugs said.

Meanwhile, Max and Calamity sneaked through the halls and went straight to the Principle's office. Using Calamity's ingenuity, Max had disabled the school alarms and broke in. For Max, this was the only course of action to end the torment he was facing. For too long, he had endured the Prankster's tricks, and for too long, Buster had done nothing to solve the problem. It was time to take matters into his own hands.

Once at the Principles Office, Calamity picked the lock using a screw driver. Both of them entered the office and looked around.

"All right. Look for anything that deals with the Prankster." Max ordered.

Together, the two of them searched through the desks and papers on the desk. Unfortunately, nothing could be found. They then looked through some of the file cabinets. Unfortunately, they found one file cabinet locked.

"All right Calamity, open it up!" Max ordered.

Calamity looked at Max questioningly.

"Do I have to repeat my self?" Max growled.

Calamity gulped. He personally thought it was a bad idea. No one messed with the files in the Principle office. Only someone really asking for trouble from Bugs, would dare do such things. But Calamity did not want to face Max's wrath either.

Calamity set to work immediately. The first idea he tried was to open the cabinet by applying a jackhammer to the top of it. He then tried to melt open the lock with a flame thrower. Neither opened the cabinet. Calamity's third choice was a diamond tipped drill, but the drill bit broke off as soon as Calamity tried it. Calamity stood perplexed.

"Come on!" Max demanded.

Calamity did what was considered a last attempt for all toons. He packed dynamite all around the cabinet. He then turned over the Principle's desk and hid behind it with Max. He lit the fuse and waited for the explosion behind the safety of the desk. A large explosion enveloped the entire Principle's office.

Max and Calamity came out of their hiding place and looked at their results when the smoke had cleared. To their surprise, everything around the file cabinet was destroyed, but the cabinet itself still sparkled as if it was brand new.

"Great! Now what?" Max demanded.

Calamity walked over and studied the cabinet again. He then reached into his fur surrounding his tail and pulled out a hairpin.

"A hairpin?" Max said in surprise.

Calamity then used the hairpin to pick the lock on the cabinet. In a matter of seconds, the lock opened, and Max and Calamity searched through the files. After gazing at several files, Max found a folder marked "The Prankster Project".

"At last!" Max said. Max began to page through the folder, with Calamity looking over his shoulder. Max saw a list of equipment and schedules the Prankster had used to place his traps. Another sheet mentioned all the teachers involved. The teachers were Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, and Wile E. Coyote. Each had made a contribution to the parts and equipment the Prankster used.

But nothing prepared Max for what was at the end. At the very end of the folder was a picture of the Prankster in the ninja outfit, followed by another picture of the Prankster's true identity. "It can't be!" Max said in surprise. Out of all the students, he never expected that it would be the one in the photo before him.

Calamity was equally surprised and frightened by the results. "What do we do?" Calamity put on one of his signs.

"I think we should have Buster help us catch this Prankster. For once, I'll show him that I can win!" Max laughed.

Buster ran to Babs's house. Babs had called him earlier, saying it was important, but also Buster wanted to say something important. When Buster reached the bedroom he found Babs sitting with Plucky. Plucky was charred to the bone and barely holding himself up. "Plucky! Where have you been?" Buster asked.

"Getting shock therapy," Plucky mumbled.

"Shirley didn't like Plucky hiding her away." Babs explained.

"I wanted to hide her away, but she can really make a duck change his mind." Plucky said.

"Where is Shirley?" Buster asked.

"Like, right behind you." Shirley said behind Buster.

Buster turned around to see Shirley appear out of no where. She floated in front of Buster with her arms crossed in defiance.

"Buster. If you are going to convict me, like, I want a fair trial. I will not run from the law." Shirley stated.

Buster looked at Shirley and then at his other friends. "Actually, I think it would be better to quit this challenge." Buster mumbled.

"Like, what?" Shirley asked.

"Buster?" Babs asked.

"You? Quit?" Plucky said in total surprise.

Buster looked at each of them. "Listen. The Prankster has done too much damage to us. We are accusing each other with very little proof to go by. It's tearing us apart. I don't want that. It's best just to tell Bugs to forget the whole ordeal. I was wrong to ask for a new villain. I was in over my head." Buster admitted.

Everyone gathered around Buster.

"Like, it takes a real man to admit when he's defeated." Shirley said.

"Especially when he wants to keep his friends," Babs said.

"Your right," Plucky admitted. Although he did not like to admit defeat, Plucky still felt touched by Buster's words. He had to admit that he almost lost Shirley to the Prankster accusations.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Babs went over to answer it. "Hello?" Babs said. She then pulled her ears away from the phone as a voice shouted through the line. "It's for you, Buster." Babs said.

Buster took the phone from Babs. "Buster speaking."

"Hey rabbit. You find the Prankster yet?" Max laughed.

"What about it?" Buster demanded.

"Well I did!" Max laughed.

"What?!" Buster said in surprise.

"I found out who the Prankster is. But because I'm a nice guy, I'll let you watch me catch the guy. Just come to school one hour before school starts. We'll catch the Prankster red handed and then I'll show you his true identity." Max said, and then the phone hung up.

"What's going on?" Babs asked.

"Max says he knows who the Prankster is. He wants me to help him catch the Prankster tomorrow." Buster explained.

"Then let's end this!" Plucky shouted.

School opened up as usual. The teachers arrived one hour early to prepare the classrooms for the coming students. The janitors cleaned the halls and made sure everything was working. In the middle of all this, the Prankster, in his ninja costume, began setting the next set of traps around lockers for the coming students.

The Prankster had finished rigging Plucky's locker with a trap. The trap would shoot a pie out of the locker to humiliate the duck. The prankster was not too fond of Plucky, so he figured that if he just played pranks on the people he didn't like to much, the pain of the ordeal would not be as bad. With a final slam, the Prankster closed the locker.

"Well. If it isn't the Prankster," Max laughed from the end of the hall.

The Prankster turned to Max. He was surprised to see that Max had found him. Max usually was the last person to enter school.

"I know who you are. I got your file." Max said. He then pulled out the folder that he found in the Principle's office and held it in the air.

The Prankster gulped. He recognized the folder and knew the game was over.

"Time to pay the piper," Max said as he gave chase to the Prankster.

The Prankster took off down the hall as fast as he could go. He knew now that the only place that was safe for him to hide was with Bugs or Sam. If Max caught him, he would feel some real pain. As the Prankster approached the Principle's office, he saw Buster and Babs waiting for him. Both had dressed up as investigators holding handcuffs.

"The game is up, Johnny!" Buster said.

"We're taking you in!" Babs said.

The Prankster jumped in surprise and then ran down an adjacent hall. He then noticed Plucky coming down the hall at him.

"Time to take your medicine," Plucky shouted as he charged the Prankster.

The Prankster jumped in surprise again. He was surrounded. How did they know he would be here at this scheduled time?

"I got you now!" Plucky said as he lunged forward at the Prankster.

The Prankster acted quickly. With Plucky just inches from him, the Prankster pulled out a giant mallet from one of his pockets and smashed Plucky flat. The Prankster then jumped over the duck and continued to run. Buster and Babs arrived at the scene a second later and looked over Plucky.

"Anyone got any aspirin." Plucky moaned in his pancake form.

Suddenly, the Prankster came back the same way, this time being chased by Max again. The two ran right past Babs, Buster, and Plucky without even noticing them.

"This is getting ridiculous." Babs said.

Buster watched the two speed off. "I got an idea." Buster said. He then pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and composed a quick note. Once done, he ran outside and dropped it in a mailbox in front of the Looniversity and waited patiently.

A mail truck drove up a second later. "Package for Buster Bunny. No relation to Babs Bunny." the driver said as he handed Buster a large box. Buster took the box and ran back inside the hall to Babs.

"Took you long enough." Babs said.

Buster proceeded to open the box. "Just help me out." Buster said. Buster then pulled out a giant rubber band that was inside the box. The rubber band was long enough to be stretched across the hall. It was the same type Wile E. Coyote used when he tried to sling-shot himself at the Road Runner.

"What is this?" Babs asked.

"Just grab the end and get on the other side of the hallway." Buster said as he walked to the opposite end. "When I say pull, pull as hard as you can." Buster said when he saw Babs in position. Buster then looked down the hallway. Running toward them was the Prankster, followed closely behind by Montana Max. Buster waited until the last second before shouting "Pull!"

Buster and Babs tugged on the rubber band as hard as they could. The rubber band stretched out over the middle of the hallway. The Prankster ran right into it and stretched it forward. The Prankster managed to get about ten feet in front of Buster and Babs before realizing he fell into their trap. When he did realize, he stopped running and looked in total surprise at the rubber band stretched across his waist. The next second, he was shot backwards at high speeds. A look of total surprise could be seen in his eyes.

Max stopped when he saw the Prankster being shot towards him. Immediately he stopped, turned, and tried to run in the opposite direction. But he got hit by the Prankster and was carried back through the hallway, crashing into the lockers at the end of the hallway.

"Now that's got to hurt." Buster said after watching the stunt. He then rushed over with Plucky and Babs to see the extent of the damage.

At the end of the hallway, Montana Max was crushed between the Prankster and a few lockers. The Prankster peeled off Max and crashed to the floor. A second later, Max peeled off the lockers and crashed on top of the Prankster.

"We got him!" Babs cheered.

"At last we can find out who the Prankster is." Buster said.

Max was the first to recover. Slowly he got up and looked down on his opponent. "I never thought that catching you would be such a hassle." Max groaned.

Plucky then walked up and looked into the Prankster's eyes. He could see that the Prankster was also coming around now, yet made no attempt to escape. "So who is it?" Plucky asked.

"Take a guess." Max said proudly.

"Elmyra?" Babs guessed.

"Someone from Perfecto Prep?" Buster guessed.

"Aliens from another universe!" Plucky shouted.

Max slapped himself on the forehead in disgust. "No you dumb rabbits! It's none other than your stinky friend!" Max said and yanked the mask off the Prankster.

"Fifi LaFume?!" Plucky, Buster, and Babs shouted in unison.

Fifi looked up at the group. "Bonjour." she said. She then rubbed her head in pain. Her whole body ached after the stunt. Rarely did she do such stunts.

Yosemite, along with other teachers, then came running down the hall. They had heard the sound of lockers being trashed and decided to investigate. "What's going on around here?" Sam shouted. He then saw Fifi on the floor, without her mask. "You crazy varmint! I told you not to get caught!" Sam shouted.

"Fifi LaFume is ze Prankster?" Pepe said surprised. He had never expected a young female skunk could cause this much trouble, especially his star pupil. It was clear he was going to talk to Bugs about assigning Fifi this job.

"You guys are brainless! Of course she is!" Max said to Buster, Babs, and Plucky.

"But how did you know?" Buster asked.

"Simple. I took the file about the Prankster." Max laughed and held up the folder.

"Now I know who wrecked my office!" boomed a voice behind Max.

Max turned around to see Bugs Bunny standing right behind him. The rabbit looked angrily down at Max with his arms crossed. "Uh-oh," Max whimpered.

"It's detention for you, Max!" Bugs shouted as he pointed a finger to the classroom for detention.

Max got on all fours and crawled away. No one dared face an angry Bugs.

Babs then looked back at Fifi. "But we saw you get shot out of a cannon by the Prankster,." Babs said to Fifi.

Fifi got to her feet with the help of Bugs. "Actually, no." Fifi replied.

"What Fifi shot was a life size dummy of her self. She fell down the trap door, placed the dummy inside the cannon, got into her costume, and fooled you guys into thinking she was in the cannon when she fired off the dummy." Bugs explained.

"Oui." Fifi agreed.

"And like dummies, we fell for it. I guess that also explains why she helped us a lot as well. What about when the Prankster laughed and you were with us?" Babs asked.

"She recorded her voice on a tape recorder that was programmed to play at special times." Bugs explained.

"Like when she got slimed." Babs said.

"But what about Hamton? He never did get hit by your pranks." Plucky demanded from Fifi.

"I could never hurt my little pig. Sam said I should play pranks on 'im, but he ees special to moi." Fifi said. Small hearts danced around her head.

Babs then turned to Bugs. "But why Fifi? She's no villain." Babs asked.

"She wanted a part and I needed someone to teach Buster a lesson." Bugs said.

"I also wanted to know what ze villain was like. As far as I'm concerned, Monti can keep ze job!" Fifi said angrily.

"Well I guess that about wraps up the case." Buster said.

Fifi looked toward her friend. "No, eet does not." Fifi said sadly. She then walked away.

The group watched as Fifi disappeared into the halls.

"What does she mean?" Babs asked in concern.

"You guys may have ended your torment of pranks, but hers will just begin." Bugs said sadly.

Buster looked to where Fifi had disappeared and then to Bugs. "You mean she's going to tell the truth to the entire school?!" Buster demanded.

"You got it, doc." Bugs said.

"The students will kill her!" Babs said.

"Better her than us." Plucky said.

Babs quickly turned to Plucky. She then went over to Porky Pig, who was holding a giant mallet prop. "Can I borrow that?" Babs asked kindly.

"Sure, I guess." Porky said as he handed Babs the mallet.

Babs snatched the mallet from Porky and jumped next to Plucky. She then smashed Plucky repeatedly with the mallet until the handle on the mallet broke. Plucky was driven into a small hole in the floor, created by the mallet.

"Check, please." Plucky moaned when Babs had stopped.

"Thank you." Babs said as she handed the broken mallet back to Porky.

Porky looked over the mallet. "Your welcome, I guess." he said.

"We got to stop her, Bugs." Buster said.

"No good. She knew what she was getting into. She wants it this way. She believes she could never live with herself if she didn't tell all those she tricked." Bugs explained.

Buster looked to Babs, who stared back at him. Buster knew exactly what the students would do. Now that the Prankster was uncovered, they would go at her with full force. The students themselves would become "Pranksters".

"I better go talk to her." Babs said. Before Buster could respond, Babs went in the same direction Fifi had gone.

Babs found Fifi in the girl's locker room. Fifi had already taken off the rest of her costume and was trying to fix her tail. Her tail had been crushed flat from both the tight costume and the impact against the lockers. But with a small brush, Fifi slowly restored it to its former beauty.

"Hey Fifi," Babs said.

Fifi looked up to Babs. She then turned away. "Bonjour Babs." Fifi said sadly.

"Fifi. It's all right. So you played a few tricks." Babs said.

Fifi turned to face her friend. "Babs, I must apologize for moi actions. I should 'ave never taken ze job." Fifi said.

"Forget about it. I guess I can see how interesting the job might be. I for one am sometimes curious. You just took the next step." Babs said.

"And ruined our friendship!" Fifi cried.

Babs strolled up to Fifi and placed a reassuring hand on Fifi's shoulder. "Do you want to here a confession? Buster gave up on this bet that he could beat a more challenging villain. He said that it was ruining our friendship with each other." Babs said.

"He did?" Fifi asked totally surprised.

"Yeah. He said it in front of Plucky, Shirley, and me." Babs said.

Fifi smiled a little at this news. She was glad to hear that Buster was willing to give up the challenge with Bugs in order to end the confrontation between his friends. She never figured Buster would quit.

"I for one don't want it to end our friendship. Friends?" Babs asked, extending her hand out to Fifi.

"Oui." Fifi said as she shook hands. The two of them then hugged each other.

Babs then looked over Fifi's tail. "Your tail is sure messed up. Let me help." Babs said. Babs then helped Fifi restore her tail to its normal look. "You know. You did a pretty good villain." Babs said.

"So did vou." Fifi said.

"Huh?" Babs asked.

"When vou dressed up like ze Prankster. Vou really surprised moi." Fifi said.

Babs laughed. Now that she could look back at the event, she had to admit she did look like a pretty good Prankster. She doubted she would take the job, knowing the results that would happen.

Like Buster had predicted, the students went crazy when they heard the news of the Prankster's identity. Originally, the identity of the Prankster was to be told to the whole school by Bugs at the end of the day. But the rumors flew earlier then expected. The circulation began when someone asked Plucky if Buster found out who the Prankster was. Plucky accidentally told them it was Fifi. What followed was surprise and then revenge.

Immediately the students ganged up on Fifi and played cruel jokes on her. They threw paper airplanes, spit balls, and fruit at Fifi as she walked the halls. Max was mostly the one who led the attacks on Fifi. Since Fifi had played so many pranks on him, he saw this as a chance to get even. Despite the fact that she was humiliated, Fifi did nothing to stop them. She seemed to have accepted her fate and the consequences.

Buster became a hero since he ended the Prankster's reign of bad jokes. Everywhere he went, students praised him for uncovering one of the sneakiest villains ever in the history of Acme Acres. Students would crowd around Buster and ask him to tell the story of how he had caught the Prankster red handed.

At lunch, Fifi had originally had sat alone in one of the back corners of the cafeteria. She tried to eat peacefully, but occasionally a lump of mystery meat was thrown in her direction. Fortunately she could easily dodge the stuff. She then noticed all her good friends coming to her.

"Do you mind if we sit with you?" Buster asked.

"Oui." Fifi said as she motioned them to join her.

Hamton took a seat right next her. Once he had sat down, he reached over to hold her hand. Fifi allowed him to, but she did not know if she could face her pig now.

"Fifi. Please don't be sad. I for one have no negative feelings toward you. In fact, I kind of liked it when you were the Prankster." Hamton said.

"You liked the Prankster?" Plucky asked.

"Sure. Fifi always left a pie in my locker." Hamton said.

"At least someone liked Fifi's Prankster." Babs said.

A low flying piece of mystery meat then flew by. Everyone ducked as the lump of meat flew over them. Several more lumps of meat followed.

"But not a whole lot of people," Plucky moaned as he watched the meat fly over him.

A group of students, led by Max, laughed as they continued to hurl meat in Fifi's direction.

"Like, I'll take care of them." Shirley said. She then floated above the table. "Oh what a loon I am. Mystery meat of yore, return to the person who threw you." Shirley chanted.

The mystery meat that had been thrown by the students floated in the air for a few seconds, even a piece that was just inches from Fifi's face, stopped and hovered. The meat then shot back at the students who threw stuff at Fifi, covering them.

"Now ze will go after vou." Fifi said in concern to Shirley.

"I say, let them try." Shirley said angrily.

"What time is that assembly?" Buster asked.

"Ze last hour of ze school day," Fifi answered.

"I hope your powers are strong enough to help Fifi. She's going to need all the support she can get." Babs said to Shirley.

"No. I must face zem myself." Fifi said.

"But-" Babs began.

"Please Babs." Fifi begged.

Babs did not like this at all. Fifi was really putting herself into a hot situation. Babs doubted that even Fifi's stink could save her now.

The students assembled in front of the school building to hear the speech Bugs Bunny was going to give to the students. A stage had been quickly set up just in front of the Looniversity for the reception. Standing at the podium was Bugs Bunny. Behind him sat Fifi LaFume, Yosemite Sam, and Wile E. Coyote. All of them had been responsible for the construction of the Prankster. Now it was their job to explain why.

Once all the students had settled in front of the stage, Bugs decided to begin his speech. "Students of Acme Looniversity. You know that in the past that a mysterious figure known as the Prankster had played some pretty bad tricks on you. For those of you who did not hear the news, the Prankster was uncovered by Buster's group just before school started. The Prankster was Fifi LaFume." Bugs explained.

A large amount of people began to "boo" toward Fifi. Fifi just looked down.

"Listen, kids! This was not totally her fault. In fact, she played only a role that other party members wanted, mainly me." Bugs said.

The crowd went silent. None of them wanted to be accused saying "boo" to their principle. It would mean detention.

"I wanted to see if Acme Acres was ready to accept a new villain other then the ones we already have. Well, Buster did catch the villain, so it's really his choice if we should get one." Bugs said.

A few people looked toward Buster who sat near the back of the group. Buster felt embarrassed at being the center of attention and gave a weak smile and waved to the students.

"As for Fifi, she wants to say something to you, kids." Bugs said. He then motioned for Fifi to approach the Podium.

Fifi made her way up to the podium and then looked toward the various students. She gave a heavy sigh before beginning. "Fellow students. Although I did work under Bugs, I must apologize for moi actions. Although I to may have played some of ze pranks on myself, I did it to deceive vou. All I can do ees apologize for moi actions." Fifi explained.

The crowd began to "boo" again at Fifi. Some of the students even shouted "traitor to Acme" at Fifi. Other kids began to throw some paper balls and fruit at Fifi. Fifi had to duck behind the podium to dodge the objects thrown at her.

Bugs tried to get order, but as soon as he did, a unknown kid threw a watermelon that landed on top of Bugs Bunny's head. Bugs stumbled around and tried to get the watermelon off, but had some trouble. Wile E. Coyote and Sam ducked behind the stage to dodge the projectiles.

"Fifi's getting creamed up there!" Babs shouted.

Buster watched the students pummel the podium with various objects. During that time, he could remember how Fifi had saved him from the same kind of projectiles when the students had not been satisfied with his investigation. Fifi was a close friend, and Buster could not allow the students to blame her for a problem, one that he himself started.

Buster then leaped onto the top of the heads of the students and ran to the stage. He then took position behind the podium. Once he did, the students stopped throwing items.

"Buster. What are vou doing?!" Fifi demanded as Buster pulled her out from her hiding place behind the podium.

"You helped me, now I'm going to help you." Buster said to Fifi. He then turned to all the students. "Fellow students! The truth of the matter is that it was I who created the Prankster!" Buster said.

The students went into surprise and shock.

"I told Bugs that I wanted a more challenging villain other than Max. Bugs gave me my request. If anyone should be blamed as to what happened, it should be me, not Fifi." Buster said.

The students began to talk among themselves. They were now even more confused. Fifi was responsible for setting up all the pranks by the Prankster, yet, Buster, their hero, was trying to defend her.

"Now listen. If we continue to blame Fifi for what she did, are we any better then the former Prankster. Is performing bad jokes on her going to remedy the situation? The best option for us is just to forgive and forget. If we keep blaming Fifi, we are no better then the Prankster. I for one will not go to school with bunch of students who act like the former villain. I would rather go to Perfecto if push came to shove." Buster said.

The speech managed to reach the students. The students felt low and ashamed for their actions they just did. All, except Max, began to say they accepted Fifi's apology as well as apologizing for their actions. None of them wanted to follow in the Prankster's footsteps.

"Merci, Buster!" Fifi said as she hugged and kissed Buster.

Buster struggled out of Fifi's grip. He had to admit that Fifi had some pretty strong arms. Already Buster could detect the faint smell of a skunk's spray. "No problem, Fifi." Buster said once he broke free.

"Good job, Buster." Bugs said as he approached Buster.

"Bugs, about that villain," Buster began.

"Don't worry Buster. We found someone to replace the Prankster. Meet Hugo." Bugs said as he pointed to a large muscle man.

"Kill Buster!" Hugo shouted. The man was huge, even when compared to Bugs. He looked almost like he belonged to the World Wrestling Committee. He wore a gold uniform and matching gold mask.

Buster gulped. "Actually, I was going to say that Montana Max was just right. We don't need a new villain." Buster said.

"Oh? Okay. Take him away boys!" Bugs shouted.

Immediately, a whole bunch of policemen charged Hugo and began to throw restraints on the muscle man. When Hugo resisted, some policemen sent electrical shocks through Hugo with electrical cow prods.

That night, Fifi, Shirley, and Babs sat outside of Fifi's home. They had come together to celebrate the end of the Prankster and the end of the student torment on Fifi. Fifi had retaken her former position as a sidekick, which she happily enjoyed, and had the same respect from the students as she had before the Prankster.

"Like, I think its time. Fire's ready." Shirley said after lighting a small campfire.

"Oui." Fifi said. She then picked up the costume she wore and threw it into the fire where it burned away.

"That's the end of the Prankster, at least for now." Babs said. She knew it was very possible for someone to resume the role.

"If ze Prankster ever appears again, eet will not be me." Fifi stated.

"Let's just hope that this is his, or her, last appearance." Babs said.

The characters used in the story are a product of Warner Brothers Entertainment and have been used without permission. Although the Prankster character is also technically a Warner Brothers character, the idea for the Prankster is solely mine. Please do not copy the Prankster without permission.


End file.
